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The Washington Post obtained a copy of the endorsement: “As Virginia’s Attorney General, Ken has been a steadfast fighter to overturn ObamaCare and return healthcare decisions back to patients and doctors. Ken is committed to working to reform state government to improve quality and access in health care through greater competition and modernizing health care information technology.”

The endorsement isn’t much of a surprise; Cucinelli is the only serious contender for the nomination and both Cuccinelli and Santorum are Tea Party favorites, famous for their far-right social views.

But this high-profile endorsement early on highlights the national interest in the election. This is one of just two gubernatorial elections in 2013 (the other is in New Jersey)

Cuccinelli will likely face Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the general election. The Virgnia Attorney General was supposed to battle it out with Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling for the GOP nomination, but Bolling recently dropped out because he thought he couldn’t compete with Cuccinelli in the statewide nominating convention in May—a process that heavily favorites conservatives over moderates.

The National Journal reported Thursday that Bolling is still keeping the possibility of an independent gubernatorial run open.